Hurricane Katrina Kills At Least 4

1.3 Million Florida Homes And Businesses Left Without Power

(CBS/AP)  The usually bustling streets of Miami Beach, a tourist haven, were largely deserted as the storm pounded the area. The city is hosting celebrities and partygoers in town for the MTV Video Music Awards. MTV called off its pre-awards festivities Thursday and Friday.

"It's like a ghost town out here," said Mark Darress, concierge at The Astor Hotel in Miami Beach. "I see the random, not so smart people, riding scooters every now and then."

Tourists and others hoping to get out of town before the storm were stranded as airlines canceled flights at Miami and Fort Lauderdale airports, which both closed Thursday night.

Three mobile home parks in Davie sustained considerable damage, according to the Broward Emergency Management Agency. "A lot of roofs are off," said Dennis Myers, a spokesman for the agency.

When the eye of the hurricane passed over the National Hurricane Center in west Miami-Dade County, forecasters ran outside to experience the calm at the center of the storm.

In an oceanfront condominium in Hallandale, Carolyne and Carter McHyman said heavy downpours once again pelted their windows after the eye passed.

"It's been horrible," Carolyne McHyman said. "Basically all our windows are leaking. We just keep mopping up and taping the windows, mopping up and taping again."

Before the hurricane struck, Floridians wary of Katrina prepared by putting up shutters, stacking sandbags in doorways and stocking up on supplies.

At a supermarket in Hollywood, Cassandra Butler hefted two five-gallon bottles of water as well as a 24-pack of smaller bottles into her shopping cart Thursday.

"It's not that I'm worried. I've been in south Florida all my life," Butler said. "But this is a feature of life down here, and you are smart to deal with it."

Gov. Jeb Bush urged residents to prepare because Katrina was expected to bring "tremendous rain" to Florida. "In essence, this is a very dangerous storm. It's important to take this seriously," Bush said.

As the storm took aim on the coast, flights were canceled at Miami and Fort Lauderdale airports.

The hurricane forced MTV to cancel or postpone some of the performances leading up to its award show, including festivities celebrating the release of Ricky Martin's new album. The show itself, planned for Sunday in Miami Beach, isn't expected to be affected.

Category 1 storms have maximum sustained winds of 74 to 95 mph, and wind damage to secured structures is usually minimal. Weather officials said Katrina was mostly a rain event, with flooding the main concern.

Katrina is the first hurricane to make a direct hit on Broward County since a destructive Category 4 storm with a recorded gust of 155 mph in September 1947.

Katrina is the second hurricane to hit the state this year - Dennis hit the Panhandle last month - and the sixth since Aug. 13, 2004. Katrina formed Wednesday over the Bahamas and was expected to cross Florida before heading into the Gulf of Mexico.

Katrina is the 11th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which began June 1. That's seven more than have typically formed by now in the Atlantic, Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. The hurricane season officially ends on November 30th.